


Red-furred Princess

by chirichiri



Category: Summer King Chronicles - Jess E Owen
Genre: Gen, catori is the Best, i know no one has read SKC but i love it with all my soul, spoilers for Song of the Summer King
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-22 20:43:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13772166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chirichiri/pseuds/chirichiri
Summary: Catori gets lost in the tunnels and has some adventures.





	1. Chapter 1

Catori gazed at the sky. Not the sky, actually, but the gryfon in it. Lying on her back, front paws resting on her fluffy belly fur, she perked her ears as the dark blotch turned, dove, wheeled, and spun in dazzling circles in the burning summer blue. It was a gryfon, definitely. Her brothers had laughed when she’d spotted it through the trees, almost immediately after they’d all escaped the den together, telling her it was just an owl or falcon. She’d slipped away when they’d started tussling, to further investigate the blotch. And it was a gryfon. The shape was vague, but only because he flew so high. She _knew_ it. She had better eyes than both Ahote or Ahanu after all.

She batted a paw at the distant gryfon, wishing she knew what it was like to fly so high and free. A few birds had tried to describe it to her, but they had nothing to compare it to. Flying was all they knew, running was all Catori knew. How could either be described to someone who knew only the opposite?

The dark-blotch gryfon flew high until he was only a tiny black prick, then dove. He flashed his wings out spectacularly to slow enough to gradually level out. Catori watched, awed. The gryfon hovered for a while, then suddenly soared off, windward. Back to his home on Sun Isle. Catori tipped her head, watching him go with a breathy whuff of disappointment. She absently scratched her belly with a paw, wishing she could see the gryfon nests and their Copper Cliff. Her mother had told her stories of gryfons and their large, honorable pride. How they fished from the sea and danced in the air before mating and sometimes ran with her pack. A whine escaped her. She so badly wanted to see them!

An idea tickled her mind. She could swim there! She’d never seen the sea, but she knew how to get there. If the dark-blotch gryfon could fly there, she could swim. Catori had splashed around in streams before, so she knew the sea would be easy. Ahote and Ahanu would be so jealous when she came back with tales of the noble gryfons!

Catori rolled to her paws and stretched low to the ground, liking how the hill’s tall grass tickled her ears and whiskers. It was a nice hill, sunny and warm with good dirt and nice scents. She added it to her favorite spots as she finished her stretch and shook out her fur. Her pelt was brown-reddish, but gaining more red every day. Her father liked to growl playfully in her ear that only wolves chosen by Tor had red coats, and she was extra special by being _his_ daughter. Red-furred Princess, he called her.

Wagging her tail joyfully, Catori trotted down the hill and deeper into the forest. She snuffled the air for scents of stinky salt, stuff wolves of her pack had told her of, as she did her best to follow the gryfon’s path of flight in the sky. It was harder on the ground with all the forest in her way—she got stuck in thorny brambles for a few panicked moments before clawing herself out. The gryfon had just flown straight! Cheater. Catori, jealous, decided she’d grow wings when she grew up. _If Munin can do it_ , she thought, padding down a narrow trail through the trees, _it must be easy_. She didn’t like that tricky old bird so much, though his brother Hugin had brought her and her brothers a gryfon feather once.

Eventually Catori got lost, in a place she’d never been to before, all direction and scents of sea lost, but she wasn’t too concerned. The trees were bigger, taller, older, with thin prickly leaves with a nice scent—pine trees?—so fewer bushes and brambles could trip her up, and it was a soft, dark place with a hush Catori appreciated after the noisiness of the den. No silly brothers, no overly-protective watchers, and it was a beautiful summer day. Not that Catori had lived many summer days, but this seemed to be the best so far. Not much sunlight got through those big old trees, but where it did through patches in the branches, it revealed secret sparkles Catori had never noticed before. She danced in one of the sparkly sunbeams, pawing and licking at the particles—though they had no scent, oddly enough—and asking them to play. They didn’t want to, she gave them a friendly goodbye sniff and lick—yes, still no scent except summer sunniness—and went on her way. Carpets of those thin, prickly, nice-smelling leaves, which Catori suspected were called needles, crunched and squished beneath her paws, which was an odd yet not unfriendly feeling.

A flash of blue caught her eye, turning her attention to a brilliantly colored butterfly as it fluttered through a beam of light. She gave a happy bark and gave chase, snapping playfully as it flew barely out of her reach, even when she leaped. Those bright blue wings made her think of feathers and ravens and gryfons again.

_Right_ , Catori thought, bounding after her prey. _The sea. I need to be looking for it_. She made one last leap for the butterfly, her jaws snapping shut a mere clawlength away, and fell flat on her belly. She scrambled to get up, glad her brothers hadn’t been there to witness that, and the ground disappeared beneath her.

She fell with a startled bark, paws scrambling for purchase and finding none, but before she could howl for help her head slammed against something hard and everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

Catori blinked slowly awake, a pounding in her head making it difficult to look around or think clearly. It was all dark, the air clogged with dust so Catori couldn’t figure out where she was. She tried getting to her paws and the world spun around her, sending her stumbling into a wall. A wall? The thought cleared her fuzzy mind a little. Was she in the den? Had she woken up? Was the dark-blotch gryfon, her wandering through the woods, all a dream? She sniffed the wall. It was cold and hard and . . . rock? Why was the wall a rock? She wasn’t in the den at all!

Whining, she backed away from it, tucking her tail between her legs in fear. Her rump bumped into something else and she whirled to find another rock wall. She was trapped! Catori yelped and spun in panicked circles, tight circles because the walls were so _close_ , so tight and cold and hard and pressing her in on every side—

_Trapped!_ Catori howled, pointing her nose up. _Trapped trapped tra_ — She stopped mid-howl. Up! She opened her eyes and found no wall. No wall! Trees and dirt and pine needles and normal rocks! She was in a hole, a deep and very odd hole, but she could climb out! She stood up on her hind legs, stretching as far as her front paws could reach, and prepared to jump.

“Haha! Stupid wolf in a hole!”

Catori fell back in startled confusion. “Who is that? Someone to save me?”

“Ha! Up here, silly pup.”

A shaking in the trees made Catori tilt her head up up up. She gazed at a big black bird hopping up and down on a pine branch, flapping his wings and sending dozens of needles flying. She blinked at the raven, trying to remember how to distinguish the two brothers. No good. She shook her head, which hurt more from the bird’s dizzying dance.

“Hugin?” she guessed hopefully.

The raven laughed, the harsh _caw caw caw_ s making the pounding in Catori’s head worse. She flattened her ears. “No, no, brother Hugin is doing something _important_ —kings and cowards, burnt feathers and runaways, wars and dragon gold! He said I couldn’t come if I would be too _silly_. But I am not the silly one!”

“Oh?” Catori said, cautious despite the interesting riddle. She knew she should show the old bird respect, and she tried whenever he was around, but he liked tugging on her shoulder fur, stealing hairs and laughing when she yelped in pain. _Red hairs, red hairs_ , he would mock. _Blessed-by-Tor hairs. Crazy hairs! Mad wolf hairs! Having odd dreams hairs!_ She’d chased him off by growling and showing her teeth then, but she couldn’t now.

“Yes yes yes,” the raven mused, then thoughtfully preened his wing. Catori sat, waiting patiently for him to finish. “I am often silly. But I’ve found something sillier! A red-furred pup in a hole!” Munin burst into raucous laughter, hopping up and down again. Catori sighed as pine needles rained down, ears flattening as she looked around the miserable hole and her miserable self. She _was_ silly, getting lost in her own forest, falling down a hole, being mocked by a bird. She hung her head, embarrassed by how disappointed her father would be when he found out.

A pine cone bounced off her head, startling her into looking back up. Munin paused—the pine cone must’ve been shaken off by his bouncing—then erupted back into mad laughter and nearly fell off his branch.

Catori’s hackles rose. She growled, peeling back her lips to show Munin her fangs. “Stop that!” she snarled. “Go find my father, Munin! Be helpful for once and bring him to me!”

Munin stopped laughing, turning his head to stare down at her with one beady eye. Catori’s tail lowered, the anger slinking out of her and fear crawling in. Had she gone too far? Was the raven angry at her now? Would he refuse to get someone to help her? Would he leave her to _die_ , lost and all alone? She’d never found the dark-blotch gryfon though!

Slowly, the raven stretched out his neck, gaze never leaving Catori’s, and snapped a pine cone from its twig.

Catori stepped back, fur poofing on her neck and back. “Don’t you dare—”

Munin chucked the pine cone, smacking Catori on the nose. She jumped back, teeth bared in rage. “Stop that! How dare you! I am Catori, daughter of Helaku the Great Hunter! Stay away from me, you miserable worm-infested featherbag—”

Another pine cone stung her ear painfully. “Hunt _that_ , mighty king-daughter!”

Catori yelped and stepped back again, but there was nowhere to go in the hole. Her back paws hit something slimy and she slipped down a decline before digging in her claws and stopping. She looked over her shoulder and was shocked to find no wall, only thick darkness and an old, old smell. A pine cone struck her paw, then muzzle, making her yip in pain and turn back to Munin, who’d flown down to the lip of the hole with a pile of pine cones beside him.

Munin laughed and opened his wings. They stretched to block out the sunlight, stretched to wrap inky darkness around Catori’s muzzle and drag her close. In that blackness, she thought she saw images dance.

With a yip of terror Catori tore herself away, spun around, and sprinted down the tunnel. She heard Munin gurgle a delighted laugh and more pine cones came her way, sometimes striking her, sometimes sailing past her—the raven was following her. Panic lent her paws speed and she ran and ran and ran, following the tunnel even as it twisted and turned and mangled the scents in her nose until she was very, very lost in the darkness.

She dared not to think of the things she’d seen in his wings. The sound of Munin’s mad cackles bouncing off the stone filled her ears, echoed in her head, and drove her on.


	3. Chapter 3

Catori plodded wearily on. Munin had stopped chasing her—though for a while she hadn’t known that with his echoing laughter—but now she was hopelessly lost. The tunnels looked the same, carried the same old scent of a long-ago wolf, felt the same beneath her paws. She was lost in their turns and twists and splits, lost in their tight darkness. Alone.

Her paws touched water. She froze, then eagerly poked her nose in it. Only a tiny amount, barely enough to wet the stone, but she still licked it. Her tongue and mouth were parched dry, her belly rumbling constantly, her coat matted and filthy, her paws sore and one twisted—she walked with a limp now—and even the faintest echo sent her into a panicked dizzy because what if it was _Munin_ but what if it was her father come to _rescue_ her but what if it were some snow cat come to eat her!

It was never anything. Catori was alone.

The despair the loneliness brought made her want to howl and howl until she died, but maybe the water meant more water. Water would wet her mouth and fill her belly and make things better if only for a little while. Then she could howl miserably until she joined the First Pack.

She followed the water, and it got deeper and wetter until she was lapping up puddles. The water tasted odd, nothing like the streams rushing through the forests above. It tasted like rock. But it was still good. And the more Catori followed the water, the less dark the tunnels became, which seemed like a good omen. The light came from a strange moss on the walls, one that made Catori sneeze when she shoved her nose into it for a sniff. It smelled like the water tasted—stone—but also something . . . deeper. Something almost like what she smelled in the strange dreams she had sometimes. Catori didn’t have the words to describe it.

Rounding a corner, she slowed when she entered a cavern and found the source of the water. A tiny waterfall trickled down the far wall into a black pool. The soft glow thrown by the moss gave the water a green tinge, and a spider of cold unease crawled down Catori’s back. Her tail slipped between her legs as she limped warily to the pool. The cavern was small, but large somehow. Not large with space, but memories. It was an old, old old place. Standing by the pool’s edge, staring into the blackness that did not reflect her face, she had the same feeling as when she pressed her forehead against a root of the First Tree. Oldness. Thoughts. Memories. Dreams.

Something stirred beneath the water. Catori pricked her ears at it, lowering her head to look at it better. She could almost make it out, but its shape kept shifting, swirling in patterns she could almost predict . . . her whiskers brushed the surface of the water. The thing became clear for a moment, then fuzzed out again. Quivering in anticipation, Catori poked her muzzle into the pool.

Black wings rushed up and took her away.


	4. Chapter 4

Catori saw her own red-furred self. The not-her lay crouched on her belly by the pool, nose in the water. Then she rose and walked out of the cavern, leaving the pool behind. Catori followed eagerly, tripping over her own paws in her haste. The not-her trotted through the tunnels, glowing moss on the walls showing which path to take when the tunnel split. Catori must’ve been blinded by hunger and thirst to have missed the moss because it was obvious now.

After more twists and turns, light—true sunlight from the outside world—began to appear in front of them at the end of the tunnel. Catori’s heart surged with hope. Light! A way out of the tunnels! She could go back to home, to her family! Loosing a happy bark, she lunged for the light—

And dived face-first into the pool. Catori jumped back, sputtering from the shock of leaving the vision and the coldness of the water. She shook out her coat and let her tongue loll in an excited pant. She knew the way out! Her tail thrashed the air in her happiness. She thanked the pool for the vision with a grateful lick then waited no longer and raced out of the cavern.

Following the moss was harder than in the vision, but Catori managed it even with her hurt paw. Sometimes it was too thin and scarce to give off much light and she had to follow the subtle scent of fresh air instead. But sure enough, just as the vision had shown, after rounding a turn she found real sunlight glowing at the end of the tunnel. This time she didn’t waste time to bark, but raced forward, the pain in her paw melting away as joy infused her body. The stone beneath her paws turned to dirt, the smell of grass and sky and wind flooded her nose, the sunlight grew so bright it blinded her, and then she was _out_. The heaviness of the earth fell away, the nasty scent was gone, and sunshine bathed her body. Catori stood still in it for a moment, eyes closed as she raised her head to the sun overhead, the wind whipping grass around her.

Then she opened her eyes and panic filled her.

This was not Star Isle.

There were trees, but no forest. Water rushed by somewhere, but it sounded like no stream Catori had ever heard. The smell was all wrong—no wolf _anywhere_ —and Catori had never seen grass so tall.

This was not Star Isle.

Just as fear threatened to set Catori running and get her lost again, a dark smudge appeared in the sky again. Her head snapped over to watch it rise high, then level out, soaring nightward. Awe and admiration drove some of the panic out, but filled her with a new understanding that made her go stiff.

Catori . . . Catori was on . . . Sun Isle. Home of the Vanir gryfon pride.

Catori sank to her haunches, overwhelmed. She . . . she hadn’t even _swam_. Just walked. Walked _underneath_ the sea, through the earth, to a whole different island. How had she done that?

_This_ , she thought slowly, _will make Ahote and Ahanu jealous enough to stop biting my tail for a whole moon_.

_My vision_ , she thought a moment later, looking up again but the gryfon was gone. _It led me here for a reason. The gryfons?_  
Well, she wanted to meet them anyway. Catori rose and, careful to avoid putting weight on her throbbing paw, walked toward the sound of water. The gryfon had come from downstream, so if she followed the river it would lead her to the pride’s den, hopefully.

The river was the biggest body of water Catori had ever seen. Even with it being summer, it still flowed deep and wide unlike how smaller streams on Star Isle had dried up. Huge silver fish swam in the currents; their scales flashing in the sunlight captivated Catori and got her to wade chest-deep into the cold water to get a better look at them. Oddly enough, they swam _up_ the river, rather than take the easy path down. Catori swatted at one, but missed entirely, merely splashing water up into her eyes. She growled at the challenge and leapt for another one, pushing off the pebbly bottom of the river to jump further. Her jaws snapped around only water and when she stretched her legs to push off the ground for another leap, there was no ground.

The current, much deeper and stronger than Catori had anticipated, spun her away. She kicked out, trying to swim as her mother had taught her, but the river was too strong for her little puppy legs and shoved her under. Panic threatening to overwhelm her, she lifted her muzzle to howl, but water instead of air seeped down her throat and choked her. She thrashed, but it was no use. The river was around _and_ inside her now.

Her head broke the surface and she coughed out a bark. But before she could howl a desperate plea for help, or even open her eyes, her body slammed into a huge rock. Her head knocked _hard_ against it, and the world spun around her in dizzying colors.

Just as her vision faded, she saw wings flash against the harsh sunlight.

_Munin?_ she wondered, then everything went dark.


	5. Chapter 5

“Careful, Stigr! She’s not a fish!”

“Tyr’s left foot—I’ve held a kit before! Wolf pups can’t be that different.”

“Oh no, of course not. One has wings and feathers and the other doesn’t, that’s all!”

The bickering voices dragged Catori back to consciousness. She blearily blinked open her eyes to find herself dangling in the air. She twisted her head up and saw strong talons gripping her body and huge wings whooshing air down on her. She winced and flattened her ears against it, but it was hard to do much else. Her legs felt dead, her thoughts were muddled, and it took all her focus to pay attention to the strange raspy voices arguing above her.

“Set her down, for Tor’s sake! She’ll freeze in this wind with that wet fur.”

“You’re the one who yelled at me to fly her out of the river in the first place, but fine. Who cares if I’m wingbrother to the king, everyone obeys you!”

Despite his words, the ground suddenly rushed up and panic burst in Catori’s heart, but they landed softer than she’d imagined and the talons released her so she sank immediately down in the sweet-smelling grass. More thuds behind her announced the presence of several more creatures than just the two arguers. Catori let her eyes drift shut, too tired to keep them open, and shivered.

“Get out of the way, Stigr, you’re blocking the sun’s warmth.”

“Maybe body heat would help more to warm her up! How about that?”

“ _Move_.”

More grumbling, but he stepped back and Catori heard the other crouch down next to her. “Hey, little one. Can you hear me? Are you awake?”

Catori whined softly.

“Good. You just rest here while we decide what to do, alright?”

“Ha, ‘we',” the male huffed. “As if you won’t be the one making the decision.”

“If you recall, Stigr, Queen Ragna asked _me_ to lead this fishing trip, not _you_. And don’t think I won’t report you for insubordination just because you’re the oh-so-mudding-special _wingbrother to the king_.”

“The only reason Ragna did that is because she’s my sister! If Baldr—”

“Shut your beak _now_ Stigr or I’ll shut it for you.”

He must’ve known she would carry out her threat because after another huff he fell silent. The female crouched back down next to Catori. “Alright. I’m not certain what to do with a half-drowned wolf pup, so we’re going to take you back to the Copper Cliff. Don’t worry about a thing. You’re safe.”

Catori forced her eyes open to look at her savior. It was, as she’d suspected, a gryfon. An actual _gryfon_ , up close. She had pale, fierce eyes that softened when Catori blinked at her.

“I am Ketil, a huntress of King Baldr’s pride. Who are you, little one?”

She licked her jaws to get them wet enough to speak. “Catori.”

Ketil blinked. “Could you repeat that?”

“Oh, don’t tell me you can’t understand the wolf tongue!” The male named Stigr stepped forward again and Catori turned her head to look at him. The black-feathered gryfon loomed over her, his head held tall and proud, green eyes bright with challenge. He looked exactly the noble warrior Catori had always imagined. “Are you one of those bright-cursed Aesirs, deaf and blind to everything but their precious dragon gold?”

“Stigr,” one of the gryfons Catori couldn’t see said. “You go too far.”

He didn’t back down or break eye contact with Ketil, who’d risen to her full height as well. Her feathers were slicked down, ears flat against her skull. Catori shrunk away, reminded by her father when he grew angry.

“I hear _all_ creatures just fine,” Ketil spat. “I simply haven’t snuck off to Star Isle with a certain gryfess to play with the woodland creatures while the rest of the _loyal Vanir_ of the pride works!”

Stigr’s feathers ruffled rather than flattened, making him look even bigger and angrier. Catori cowered deeper in the grass. He opened his beak, a growl already rolling out from his chest.

“Stigr, Ketil,” the gryfon from before said, in the same quiet yet firm voice. “That’s enough, both of you. We’re all tense and unhappy with the Aesirs’ arrival. But you’re scaring the pup.”

Ketil immediately glanced down, her ears pricking toward Catori, angry sliding away and kindness returning in her eyes. Stigr took longer to sleek down his feathers and step back again. “Catori,” he said shortly. “That’s her name, presumably.”

“Thank you,” Ketil said, words clipped. “Let’s go.”

“I’ll carry her again,” Stigr grumbled, reaching for Catori. Ketil swatted his talons away with her tail.

“We’re not flying, not with her like this. _I’ll_ carry her, on my back, for the first part until she’s strong enough to walk.”

“And what,” Stigr growled, “is the purpose of that? Walking will take twice the time.”

“Wet fur freezes in the wind—something you might know if you went fishing like the rest of us.” She raised her voice over his complaints. “On the ground her fur will dry, and then walking will warm her up and help her get her strength back. Now _let’s go_.” She ignored all other spluttering noises Stigr made and lay on her belly in front of Catori. “Can you climb up onto my back, little pup?”

Catori pushed to her paws, wobbled and nearly fell over, steadied, and hesitantly began climbing. _It’s just like climbing over Mother when playing with Ahote and Ahanu_ , she tried to convince herself. _If Mother were a bird_. Feathers were the oddest thing Catori had ever felt, more strange than even a frog’s skin. She kept slipping, and Ketil used her beak to help nudge Catori up the rest of the way. She stood uneasily between the gryfon’s wings, imagining how painful it would be when Ketil began walking and she fell off.

“Maybe lie down?” Ketil suggested. “And don’t be afraid to hang on with your claws or teeth. It won’t hurt me.”

Catori lowered herself onto her belly and buried her paws into the feathers. She could hardly believe this. She’d met gryfons, talked to gryfons, and now she was riding one! Ahote and Ahanu would never be able to make fun of her again.

“And here we go!” Ketil rose slowly and Catori dug her paws in, both nervousness and excitement buzzing beneath her skin. The gryfess strode forward and the other gryfons—carrying bundles of fish tied together in their beaks—fell in behind her, even grumpy Stigr.

Riding a gryfon was terrifying, as Catori thought she would slide off at any time, but once she got used to the odd gait—uneven because of both talons and paws, she supposed—it was fun to be up so high. The feathers were warm and fluffy, the softest thing she’d ever laid on. And when Catori closed her eyes she could imagine she was flying, the sun overhead warming her fur and wind rustling her feathery wings.

She’d walked, she’d swam—well, drowned—and now she flew to see the mighty gryfon pride. Her brothers would never believe it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter, but it has Ragna and Baldr so !!!!!!

“What happened next?”

“Well, I was in a tough spot, sure, but what the snow cat _didn’t_ know was that I’d eaten a particularly smelly fish that morning, so when I—”

Ketil snorted at that, though she walked several strides ahead and had pretended not to be listening when Stigr had begun his stories. “What a load of gull poop,” the gryfess muttered.

Stigr snapped his beak shut and glared at her, ears ticking back, but Catori bumped her head against his leg. “Keep going, keep going!”

The black gryfon glanced down. Catori wagged her tail, tongue lolling in a happy pant. His hard expression softened and he chuckled softly. “Alright then. As I was saying—”

“We’re here,” Ketil interrupted, stopping so short that Stigr bumped into her. “Come take a look, Catori.”

All thoughts of Stigr’s wild adventures fell away and Catori darted to the gryfess’s side, excitement tingling through her fur. She went still, tongue hanging loosely at the sight.

Ketil looked down at her, ears perked. “Welcome to the Copper Cliff, little pup.”

Gryfons. So many, milling all over. Fluffy kits play-wrestled and raced each other down the same strip of grass over and over, supervised by a few gryfesses lazily watching them as they chatted and groomed. A hunting party flew back from the sea, bundles of fish in their talons and beaks. Fledglings practiced flying by jumping off rocks and beating their wings furiously; one gray-feathered gryfon slipped before he jumped and fell on his beak, invoking peals of laughter from his peers. Beyond them, pairs of warriors sparred, and Catori watched with wide-eyed amazement. Stigr stepped up beside her, ears perked toward the warriors, and he uttered a quiet curse when one gryfon got soundly trounced by a laughing gryfess.

Ketil rolled her eyes. “Come on, Catori. Let’s find someone who—”

“Sigrun!” Stigr shoved past Ketil and bounced toward a gryfess with pale brown feathers, who was talking to a fledgling trotting by her side. She looked up at the sound of her name and immediately perked her ears.

“Not those two . . .” Ketil sighed but walked after Stigr, Catori hurrying to stay by her side. She kept tripping over her own paws, too busy goggling at an elder twitching his tail back and forth for kits to chase after—what old Kuruk did with her and her siblings!—to watch where she was going.

“Torin, can you go do that for me?” Sigrun was saying when Ketil and Catori caught up. The fledgling nodded and ran off in the direction of the cliffs. Sigrun turned to them, gaze switching between Stigr and Ketil. “You’re back late from the Nightrun.” She peered over their heads at the gryfons of their fishing party. “With so few fish?”

“We had to return early,” Ketil said before Stigr could. “And walk, not fly, because of this fella.” Ketil stepped to the side and nudged Catori forward with her beak.

Sigrun perked her ears, bending her head down to be more level with Catori. “Hello, there. I didn’t see you before!”  
Catori waved her tail and gave her face a friendly lick. “I’m Catori!”

“Well met, Catori. I’m Sigrun, the pride’s healer.” Sigrun cocked her head. “That name’s familiar. Who is your father?”

Catori stood up straight. “Helaku, the Great Hunter, leader of the Star Isle pack! He’s the strongest and the most bravest wolf ever!”

Stigr and Ketil exchanged shocked looks and Sigrun straightened. “The Great Hunter?” Stigr stammered. “You’re the daughter of the wolf king?”

Catori yipped happily.

Sigrun leveled an exasperated yet fond look at Stigr. “Honestly, Stigr, you still don’t recognize Helaku’s family? After the many adventures we’ve had with the wolves?”

Catori had the sudden suspicion that Sigrun was the gryfess Ketil had talked about when she’d accused Stigr of running off. Were they mates? Was the fledgling that had run off their son?

Ketil coughed after some time had passed with Stigr and Sigrun gazing at each other in a way Catori had seen her parents do sometimes. “Well, anyway. We found her floating by in the river and—”

“I pulled her out,” Stigr said, puffing out his chest. “Had to act quick, with the current pulling her along so strong, but I managed.”

“Yes, you were very brave,” Ketil said drily. “ _Anyway_ , on our walk here she told us a raven had chased her into the tunnels under the islands—you know, the ones the wolves use sometimes?—and she got lost but found her way out on Sun Isle. I wasn’t sure what to do, so we brought her back here. I was hoping to speak with the queen.”

“Queen Ragna is making sure the young prince takes his nap,” Sigrun said, her feathers fluffing up with happiness. “It took both of us to drag him away from the seashore. He loves the water so much.”

Ketil’s feathers fluffed as well. “He looks so much like his father.”

“Very handsome, once he grows up,” Sigrun agreed.

“I imagine he’ll become just as wise and kind.”

“Yes, he’ll need to be.” Sigrun’s eyes darkened with worry and she seemed to grow distant, thinking about something far away.

Stigr grunted. “Enough of that. What should we do with the wolf pup?”

Catori wagged her tail at the mention of her. “Can I meet the young prince?”

Sigrun laughed. “I’m afraid not, little one. Prince Shard would never go to sleep if he met a pretty wolf like you!”

Catori drooped a little, but she supposed it was best for the gryfon prince to get his rest. Still, her brothers would be disappointed if she didn’t meet at least one royal.

“Tell you what,” Sigrun said. “The queen is busy, but I’m sure King Baldr would love to meet the Great Hunter’s daughter.”

Catori’s eyes went big. Meet the gryfon _king_? That was a thousand times better than any napping prince! Shard was probably too young to talk or be fun anyway, she reasoned, if he was still taking naps. She and her brothers only did it at least twice a day, after all.

“So how does that sound?”

“I would love to!” she yipped, her entire body shaking from the force of her wagging tail.

Sigrun craned her neck. “He’s up there on the King’s Rocks.” Catori copied her, but she was too little to look over the mass of gryfons. “We best hurry to catch him before he runs off helping someone.”

Ketil stepped forward with her, Catori bouncing beside them, but Stigr jumped forward. “I’ll go with the pup, Ketil, and speak with Baldr. You can finish your business with your hunters, divide up the fish and such.”

Ketil opened her beak, but Stigr added, “You were asked by Ragna to lead the party, so I can only assume you wish to see the work finished correctly.”

The pale-eyed gryfess ground her beak for a moment before nodding stiffly in agreement. “Of course.” She lowered her head and bumped Catori with her beak. “Fair winds to you, little one.”

Catori licked her cheek. “Good hunting!”

She straightened, leveled one last glare at Stigr, then turned tail and strode back to her group, calling orders. The black-feathered warrior looked smugly in her direction, then turned toward Sigrun.

“Well?” he said, ears perked. “Shall we go meet with my wingbrother?” Sigrun sighed and shook her head, but walked up to his side, Catori following in happy bounds, and they started towards the King’s Rocks.

“You could be kinder, Stigr.”

“What? That was kind! Tyr and Tor knows how hard I work to be civil toward that windblown—”

“Stigr.”

“—er, _respected_ huntress of the pride.”

“He was nicer than during our walk here,” Catori chimed in, but she was too distracted by the gryfons around her to pay much attention. The sights were interesting, but she wished she could run out ahead and meet King Baldr _now_. She fought the impulse. She was the daughter of the wolf king, practically an ambassador to the Sun Isle! She had to act with grace and dignity, show the nobleness and wisdom of the wolves.

The interesting smell of gryfon droppings made her pause, and she had to run to catch up.

As they got closer, Catori’s enthusiasm took an odd drop and nervousness crept in, drooping her tail. The king looked very wise, very regal, very _large_ on his rocks, especially with that strange, deep look in his eyes. She found herself slipping behind her gryfon friends, but peered around their legs to look up at the king. That look, that light, in his eyes. It reminded her of something . . .

The king finished his business with a short, green-grayish gryfess, who did an odd bow where she spread her wings before rising and trotting off. Was that how Catori was supposed to greet the king? No snuffles or licks? She didn’t have wings!

“King Baldr,” Sigrun said, stepping forward. She and Stigr performed the odd bow, and Catori cowered behind them, scared the king would notice her and grow angry that she didn’t have wings to bow with. If he never saw her, then she could sneak off, and everyone would just forget about her and she could swim back to Star Isle and everything would be fine. No scary bows or scary gryfon kings. And when her brothers asked, she’d say _of course_ she’d met the kingl. There wouldn’t need be any mention that they hadn’t talked.

“Sigrun, Stigr, my friends,” the king said, and his soft, gentle voice made Catori perk her ears. He sounded nothing like her father. “What is it?”

Stigr stepped forward eagerly. “Baldr, my fishing party found—” Sigrun made a soft sound. “—er, Ketil’s fishing party caught an interesting fish in the Nightrun.”

“Oh?” the king said, sounding amused. “Was this fish rather large? Perhaps not all that scaly?”

“Yes! In fact, it’s actually . . . covered in . . . fur . . .” Stigr’s features twisted into a grimace. “Tyr’s beak—How do you _always_ know these things, wingbrother? I swear, I thought I’d surprise you with this one!”

The king laughed. “Just a guess, Stigr.” But his eyes slid to the side and Catori followed his gaze to a tree where a big black bird sat in the branches, watching with beady eyes. Catori clamped her jaws shut to keep from howling, but as she sank down to her belly a whine escaped.

Sigrun turned at the sound. “What’s wrong, Catori?”

“You brought her with you? Very good.” The king’s voice somehow eased the fear in Catori’s heart a little. She dragged her attention away from the raven—if it attacked her again she was pretty sure Stigr could fight it off—back to the king, and somehow he found her hidden in the grass. His pale green eyes, so full of that light, met hers. “Come on out, young Catori.”

Slowly she rose and wobbled forward. Sigrun nuzzled the fur on her neck in encouragement. “Gre-greetings, King b-Baldr.” Had she said that name right? Gryfon names tripped her up sometimes. She didn’t dare try a bow.

“Greetings, Catori,” the king said warmly, his ears perked toward her. “Daughter of Helaku the Great Hunter?  
”  
Stigr nodded for her.

“I’m sure you’ll grow up to be just as fine a hunter.”

Catori waved her tail weakly in response.

To her surprise, he beckoned with his talons. “Do you want to climb up here, see the view for yourself? You might be surprised that where a king stands is not so different from his subjects.”

Stand on the gryfon King’s Rocks? Her brothers would beg to be eaten by foxes rather than face the jealousy! Catori yipped and bounded forward. The king chuckled and made room for her as she scrambled up and turned to look around. At her small height, she could barely see over Sigrun’s head, but it _did_ make her feel taller. Prouder. Like the princess she was. Catori raised her head proudly in the breeze, the smell of the salty sea even stronger now with her standing above the musk of gryfon. The sunlight made the red in her coat glow a bloody amber.

The king lowered himself next to her so they were closer in height. He cocked his head at her, ears perked. “How did you end up on my island, daughter-of-Helaku?”

Catori hesitated, but his eyes, gentle and friendly, made it easy to talk to him, easier even than talking with Ketil or Stigr. Maybe it was his royalness. She started at the beginning with the dark-blotch in the sky she’d known to be a gryfon, and the king’s eyes flickered with recognition. To her surprise, his nare flushed pink and his ears slipped back slightly, and she paused.

“Go on,” he encouraged.

She told him about falling in the tunnels, about Munin chasing her—she bared her teeth at the raven in the tree, though she wasn’t sure if it was Munin or his brother or just a raven—and about finding a pool of water. She hesitated there, uncertain suddenly about the vision she’d witnessed. She knew wolves had them, went on quests for their life vision, but did gryfons? In case it caused the king confusion she skipped it, uncertain how she would explain it anyway. She followed the glowing moss out of the tunnels, went down to the river, fell in, and was saved by Stigr. The warrior raised his handsome head proudly, black feathers gleaming in the sunlight.

“Then we walked back—I rode on Ketil’s back until I was dry and my paw felt better—and now I’m here!” Catori’s tail beat the stone in a happy rhythm.

“That’s quite the adventure,” the king said. He’d been a good listener, never interrupting with questions or mockery like her brothers did. “I’m impressed a wolf pup did so much. You’re very brave, Catori.”

Catori showed her teeth in a friendly way.

“But I imagine you’re tired and wanting to get home.” The king rose and shook himself, flexing his wings in and out. Catori cocked her head, watching those wings. She could’ve sworn she’d seen them somewhere.

“I can fly her back,” Sigrun offered.

“We do need to talk to the wolves, Baldr,” a regal voice said behind Sigrun, turning everyone’s attention to a white-feathered gryfess approaching with her head held high. “Helaku needs to know of our . . . situation with the newcomers. No doubt the Great Hunter’s heard of it from the ravens and birds, but he deserves to hear it from us.”

“Of course,” Baldr said, dipping his head. His ears perked at her. “How’s Shard?”

The gryfess’s smooth, regal face softened. She reminded Catori a great deal of her own mother. “The prince sleeps well, finally. Had to sing two lullabies to get him to settle.”

The king’s feathers fluffed happily and he and the queen shared a look even stronger than Stigr and Sigrun’s. Catori looked politely away.

“So who’s taking the pup?” Stigr asked impatiently.

“I can,” Sigrun said, but the queen shook her head.

“Helaku needs to hear it from me or Baldr,” she said. “And I think it best me.” She looked up at Baldr, ears perked.

The king nodded. “I’ll send some warriors—”

“No need,” Sigrun said. “I need to gather more herbs, just—well, just in case. Queen Ragna and I will take the pup.”

The king flattened his ears. “At least Stigr—”

“I’m staying here with you, wingbrother,” Stigr said firmly, stepping forward. “You were planning to visit the Aesir king just before sunset, and I’m coming with you.”

The queen nodded. “We don’t need protection. The wolves are our friends, Baldr.”

He looked away. “I know. It’s not the wolves, I just—” He sighed, looking windward. “Things are just uncertain, Ragna. I don’t know.”

The queen came up and nuzzled his cheek. “Things will work out, my mate,” she murmured. “You need not worry about this thing. Trust in me and my wingsister to return the king’s daughter, as I trust you to deal with our Aesir . . . friends.”

“I trust you,” the king whispered back, closing his eyes. “Be safe.”

“Only for you, my love.” The queen nipped his ear gently, then backed away, tail lashing. “It’s settled, then,” she said, louder so the others could hear. “Sigrun and me. Let’s fly now before the sun sets.”

Catori looked nightward and was amazed to see the sun nearing the horizon. Anxiety chewed on her. She’d been away from home a _really_ long time. Was her family searching for her? Were they as worried as she was? She wished they knew she was safe with the gryfons and would return soon. But a different fear nibbled at her. What was the king so worried about? The way he kept looking far past his pride, somewhere else on Sun Isle . . . Catori had the sudden feeling that soon, many things would change.

“I’ll carry her, Ragna,” Sigrun said quietly. She beckoned Catori with her tail and Catori hustled down from the rocks, anxious to return home.

Ragna nodded at her and dipped her head to the king. “My mate,” she said, then leapt into the air, wings beating hard. Catori gaped, amazed how she hovered with ease.

Sigrun bowed to the king, wished Stigr fair winds, then carefully wrapped her talons around Catori. “You ready?”

“Good hunting, King Baldr!”

The king chuckled and dipped his head to her. “And fair winds to you, daughter-of-Helaku.”

Sigrun’s talons tightened, and Catori’s heart skipped a beat in her excitement, then the gryfess shoved off from the ground and beat her wings.

“Thanks for the stories, Stigr,” Catori remembered to yell down at the black-feathered warrior. “I hope you’ll tell me the ending!”

Stigr raised his head, lifting his wings. “I will! The next time you sneak away from home, do it when Tor shines her brightest!”

And then they were soaring away, following the pale queen, and everything below grew _tiny_. Catori gawked, staring down as the king and Stigr shrunk, then the pride, then the _island_ , and then they were flying over the sea and she realized it would’ve been much harder to swim it than she’d thought. The sea was larger than all the streams on Star Isle, greater than the Nightrun River, held more water than rainy skies.

“How do you like it?” Sigrun asked, yelling above the wind.

Catori laughed, then twisted her head up and howled. It must’ve startled Sigrun, for she faltered, but then she steadied and laughed as well. Catori wiggled happily, loving the feel of the sunlight warming her skin even as the wind blasted her fur.

“Is it like you imagined, if you did?” the queen asked, swooping over on Sigrun’s right.

Catori howled again, putting the feeling into it where she couldn’t with words.

The queen laughed and to Catori’s surprise tipped her head back and sang a gryfon’s imitation of a wolf howl. Sigrun followed, hers a little more wobbly, and Catori threw her head back to join in.

The three voices rose and wove together, the wind tearing the song away but not before Catori could feel it hum in her heart. _I’m going home!_

Even if things were to change, and soon, Catori thought maybe the queen was right. Things would work out.

It was summer, after all.


End file.
